The third cornerstone skill of sales and selling is communication. The skills that make
up communication are most commonly associated with sales. Communication is the heart
and soul of selling because it is the method and style you use to transmit and receive
information from customers and prospects.

There are fundamentally two styles of sales communicaton. The first is the leading or
manipulative style which uses language and techniques to lead people where you want them
to go and arrive at conclusions that are favorable to you. The second is the cooperative
or consultative style, which asks questions to find out if there is a genuine need or
desire for your products.

Generally speaking, leading communication styles are used by salespeople involved in
single-sale consumer purchases. For the most part, business-to-business salespeople use
the cooperative style of communication because it works better and is more suitable for
long term relationships.

Regardless of communication style, never forget that in the field of sales, the thing
that distinguishes you from customer service or any other function which involves customer
interaction, is asking for and getting commitment. If you don't ask for and get
commitment, you're not in sales. Sorry, but you're not.

Before every sales call, plan your primary objective in making the call
and determine where and how you will ask for commitment. After the call, rate
yourself on how successful you were in executing. Understand that they have an
obligation to give you back commitment or "no thanks" for the information
and time that you are giving them. "Go for the no" so you can find out
exactly where you stand. Don't waste your time or theirs.

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